CHERYL: SIMON IS NASTY

CHERYL: SIMON IS NASTY

CHERYL Cole told last night how she feels like “lamping” Simon Cowell because he is so “nasty, rude and annoying”.

Published 28th October 2009

Cheryl has said she struggles to keep her tongue in check when the cameras roll

Cheryl jokingly chokes Simon

Simon is living up to his “Mr Nasty” image

There has been tension between the pair this year

Cheryl's new single is the year’s biggest selling seller

The chart-topping Geordie beauty has broken her silence on the increased “friction” between her and Simon on this year’s X Factor.

She admitted the pair have been at each other’s throats more than usual this year. And the Girls Aloud star claimed she has to “clench her fists” as Simon, 50, drives her mad by getting “more and more annoying ... really annoying” during the show.

Cheryl, 26, whose Fight For This Love is the year’s biggest selling single, said: “Maybe I should just lamp him.”

And the babe certainly packs a powerful punch. Six years ago the then Cheryl Tweedy was charged with causing actual bodily harm in a nightclub toilet.

A court heard she threw a right hook at the 39-year-old black female attendant who asked her to pay for a handful of lollipops she had drunkenly snatched.

Cheryl, now married to Chelsea ace Ashley Cole, 28, was found guilty of assault, but cleared of being a racist, after an eight-day trial.

The then 20-year-old was ordered to pay her victim £500 compensation, sentenced to 120 hours’ community service and told to pay £3,000 costs.

But since that night of shame Cheryl has turned her life around with Girls Aloud and become a national treasure, thanks to the X Factor.

However, she admitted that it is not all rosy on the show’s judging panel and she struggles to keep her temper in check when the cameras roll.

She told BBC News: “There is tension between us on the actual Saturday night, when he starts getting annoying and saying nasty things. It gets really heated backstage, and quite competitive.

“I don’t feel like I’m a competitive person. I feel like the best person should win The X Factor, whether they're in my category or not. But he's so competitive and so rude sometimes that I find myself getting caught up in it. Honestly, he’s really annoying. Really annoying.”

During the current series Simon has lived up to his “Mr Nasty” image, even reducing Cheryl to tears by criticising her song choices for her acts. He also dubbed Cheryl and fellow judge Dannii Minogue, 38 “two witches” on Saturday’s show.

Cheryl hit back that she was sick of Simon’s smugness and could not stand it any more.

She also told how she has warned her acts to prepare themselves to be voted off the show.

Cheryl, whose new album Three Words is out now on Fascination/Polydor Records, said: “I’ve told the boys that if you go out soon, you could still have success and if you win you’re not guaranteed success. Certainly not. But I think that happens anyway with people trying to make it in the music industry.

“This is not a career card, this is a platform. It’s after the show that you actually prove yourself as an artist and the career kicks in.”